


I'm With You Till the End of the Line

by the_yeet_to_your_yoink



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Gen, Poetic justice for Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 10:19:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18618640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_yeet_to_your_yoink/pseuds/the_yeet_to_your_yoink
Summary: ENDGAME SPOILERS ALL THE ENDGAME SPOILERS OH GOD CLICK AWAY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What if Steve came back after returning all the infinity stones instead of abandoning his friend who he specifically promised he would not abandon?





	I'm With You Till the End of the Line

**Author's Note:**

> Endgame was AMAZING but if you cannot tell already... I'm salty :) so salty about Cap. BUT please enjoy my attempt to fix it.

The world disappears. Rebuilt when he arrives in the past.

This is it.

Steve stands, fists furled and jaw clenched, on Peggy's porch, several in decades in the past.

This is what he's wanted for over seventy years. He could knock on this door and be with her, live the rest of his life with her. He made sure all the infinity stones were returned to their original timelines. It was an interesting conversation to have with The Ancient One. She seemed pleased, and told him to give Bruce her regards.

Bruce. His friends. If he did this now, he would never see them again. He thinks of how they've become family. Would they resent him if he didn't come back? Does he deserve a happy ending if he abandons his friends when they need him, while they're grieving?

He wishes he could ask Nat or Tony about this. His heart hurts as the thought occurs.

It should've been him. Steve would happily take their place if he could.

Steve thinks back to all the shit they went through together. The Battle of New York, Ultron, quiet moments together. Even after Steve left Tony on the brink of death (he winces with regret), Tony was much more loyal than Steve expected, or deserved.

Then he thought of Peggy.

Strong, intelligent, snarky. She shines brightest in the darkest times of his life. She was the light at the end of the tunnel. His suffering, his pain, his effort, all led back to one thing, making her proud. His every effort was to shape the world the way she saw it, with the potential she saw in humanity. And so he decided.

Yet as he raised his knuckles to knock on the door, a thought came to him that had him lowering them back to his side with a shaky exhale.

What would happen to the life she would create, the children she would love, if he came and completely erased it?

Could he do this to her? Take away the happy ending he knew she would build for herself, just to fulfill his selfish desire? They hadn't known each other for long, she had grieved - for him and for what they could've become - already. Steve's hand comes back to his side because he thinks of his friends, everything they've gone through together. He thinks about Bucky, because this isn't the end of the line.

His heart aches once again.

He already lost Tony, he doesn't know if he could handle losing Bucky as well. If he does this now, how would Bucky feel? Would he feel abandoned by the one person who promised to be there for him? He doesn't have anyone else. At least when Steve was thawed, he had his memories. If he stays here, Bucky will have to go on that journey alone, when Steve could help him fight his battles the way Bucky helped him.

Steve thinks about Bucky. His smile, his laughter, the life they shared, the war. He thinks about how they reunited and how he could see Bucky slowly regaining his sense of self, the easy camaraderie that can only be cultivated through years and years of friendship and loyalty.

Finally, he thinks about Peggy's last words to him.

_Sometimes, the best that we can do is start over._

He walks away and he doesn't look back.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I might write another chapter where Steve meets everyone after he returns if there is a demand for it <3 thanks for reading


End file.
